View source for Kobe Airport

{{Short description|Airport in Japan}}
{{Infobox airport
| name                = Kobe Airport
| nativename-a        = {{nobold|{{Nihongo2|神戸空港}}}}
| nativename-r        = <small>''Kōbe Kūkō''</small>
| image               = Kobe Airport logo 2018.gif
| image-width         = 250
| image_alt           = 
| caption             = 
| image2              = Kobe Airport06s5s3200.jpg
| image2-width        = 250
| image2_alt          = 
| caption2            = 
| IATA                = UKB
| ICAO                = RJBE
| type                = Public
| owner-oper          = [[Kansai Airports]] ([[Orix]]-[[Vinci SA]] [[consortium]])
| city-served         = [[Kobe]], [[Japan]]
| location            = [[Chuo-ku, Kobe]]
| hub                 = [[Skymark Airlines]]<br />
[[Fuji Dream Airlines]]
| elevation-f         = 22
| coordinates         = {{coord|34|37|58|N|135|13|26|E|region:JP|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_map         = Japan Kobe#Japan Hyogo Prefecture#Japan
| pushpin_label       = RJBE
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Kobe##Location in Hyōgo Prefecture##Location in Japan
| website             = [http://www.kairport.co.jp/eng/index.html www.kairport.co.jp]
| metric-rwy          = y
| r1-number           = 09/27
| r1-length-m         = 2,500
| r1-surface          = [[Asphalt concrete]]
| stat-year           = 2021
| stat1-header        = Passengers
| stat1-data          = 1,752,629
| stat2-header        = Cargo (metric tonnes)
| stat2-data          = 0
| stat3-header        = Aircraft movement
| stat3-data          = 15,019
| footnotes           = Source: Japanese [[Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Kobe Airport|url=https://www.mlit.go.jp/common/001365861.pdf|publisher=Japanese [[Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism]]|access-date=23 May 2021|language=ja|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523052310/https://www.mlit.go.jp/common/001365861.pdf|archive-date=23 May 2021}}</ref>
}}

{{nihongo|'''Kobe Airport'''|神戸空港|Kōbe Kūkō}} {{Airport codes|UKB|RJBE}} is an [[airport]] on an [[artificial island]] just off the coast of [[Kobe]], {{convert|8|km|abbr=on}} south of [[Sannomiya Station]]<ref name="AIP">[https://aisjapan.mlit.go.jp/ AIS Japan] {{webarchive|url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160517110850/https://aisjapan.mlit.go.jp/ |date=2016-05-17 }}</ref> [[Japan]]. Opened on February 16, 2006, it primarily handles domestic flights, but can also accommodate international charter flights. In the first year of operation (2006), the airport handled 2,697,000 passengers with an average [[Passenger load factor|load factor]] of 61.1%. In 2017 it handled 3,071,974 passengers with an average load factor of 79.4%.<ref name = "usage">{{Cite web | url = http://www.city.kobe.lg.jp/life/access/airport/riyouzisseki.html | script-title = ja:神戸空港利用状況 | trans-title = Kobe Airport usage | website = City of Kobe | language = ja | access-date = 1 September 2018}}</ref>

==History==
The city government of Kobe first proposed an airport adjacent to [[Port Island]] in 1971. At the time, government planners were seeking alternatives to the heavily congested [[Osaka International Airport]]: the original Kobe Airport plan called for six runways more than {{convert|3000|m|abbr=on|0}} in length on a {{convert|1100|ha|abbr=on}} facility. The mayor of Kobe, Tatsuo Miyazaki, declared his opposition to building such a large airport so close to the city, and was re-elected shortly afterward in 1973, defeating a competitor who supported the airport.<ref name="hyogorp">{{cite web|script-title=ja:関西３空港のあり方について（提言） |url=http://www.hyogo-rp.net/report/pdf/h21/h21_jigyou.pdf |publisher=財団法人 兵庫地域政策研究機構 |access-date=12 December 2013 |date=March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929182645/http://hyogo-rp.net/report/pdf/h21/h21_jigyou.pdf |archive-date=29 September 2013 }}</ref>

Kobe businesses were still interested in the plan, however, and pressed the city government to propose a smaller facility with one {{convert|3000|m|abbr=on|0}} runway. This plan was submitted to the Transport Ministry in 1982 as a competitor for the [[Kansai International Airport]] plan which was then being supported by the Osaka and Wakayama prefectural governments. After the national government voiced its displeasure with the Kobe proposal, Kobe officially switched its support to the Kansai Airport proposal in 1984, but in 1985 decided to independently fund the construction of another airport.<ref name="hyogorp" />

[[File:PortIslandCloseup 2003262.jpg|thumb|Kobe Airport (bottom) under construction in 2003]]
The construction of the airport was stalled for lack of funding until 1995, when it won national government support as a means for recovering the Kobe economy in the wake of the [[great Hanshin earthquake]]. Despite ongoing controversy, locals continued to support the plan: in the 1997 mayoral election, the pro-airport coalition won a narrow victory over the anti-airport coalition. Construction began in September 1999 but political controversy continued: 87,000 signatures were collected in a petition to recall the mayor in 2000, and a citizen lawsuit to cancel the project was dismissed in 2004.

The airport finally opened on February 16, 2006, with [[Japan Airlines]] operating the first flight and [[All Nippon Airways]] operating the first scheduled flight. Both ANA and JAL announced plans to replace portions of their widebody fleet with a larger number of mid-size aircraft, in part because of a need to fill the excess number of flight slots created by Kobe Airport's construction.<ref>Shimizu, K. "JAL, ANA eye smaller jets to meet changing needs". in [http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nb20041001a2.htm Japan Times], Oct 2004., retrieved February 15, 2007</ref> The airport handled its first international [[business jet]] flight in September 2006.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.city.kobe.lg.jp/life/access/airport/index_04.html |title=神戸市：神戸空港ホームページ 神戸空港の経緯 |access-date=2011-06-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104204925/http://www.city.kobe.lg.jp/life/access/airport/index_04.html |archive-date=2014-01-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

As part of its bankruptcy restructuring, JAL terminated all services out of Kobe and closed its office on June 1, 2010, in response to which [[Skymark Airlines]] announced a major expansion at the airport.<ref>{{cite news|script-title=ja:兵庫県と神戸市・神商、神戸空港24時間化など要望 国交省に|url=http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASJB3102Z_R30C10A5LDA000/|access-date=12 December 2013|newspaper=[[The Nikkei]]|date=1 June 2010}}</ref> ANA also cut back services following the airport's opening. Skymark is currently the dominant carrier at Kobe carrying approximately two-thirds of its passengers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.city.kobe.lg.jp/life/access/airport/img/HP30.2.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2018-04-01 |archive-date=2018-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401213833/http://www.city.kobe.lg.jp/life/access/airport/img/HP30.2.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2013, Kobe mayor [[Tatsuo Yada]] endorsed a proposal to consolidate the management of the three Kansai region airports by adding Kobe Airport to the planned sale in 2014 of operating concessions at Itami and Kansai.<ref>{{cite news|script-title=ja:神戸市長、３空港一体に意欲|url=http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASHD04015_U3A001C1LDA000/|access-date=12 December 2013|newspaper=[[The Nikkei]]|date=5 October 2013}}</ref>

Kobe was already the most indebted municipality in Japan with debts of over ¥3 trillion after [[Great Hanshin earthquake]], and this project's cost (estimated at over ¥300 billion, or US$3 billion) has made it very controversial. Supporters argue that the third airport can mean increased competition and lower airfares. People in the surrounding regions ([[Shikoku]], [[Awaji Island]] etc.) can now have a closer airport while access to Kansai may be limited. Since the ferry from [[Tokushima]] to [[Kansai Airport]] was discontinued, travellers have had to rely on alternate means of transportation including a bus to Kansai Airport, which takes an hour longer, or to use the local [[Tokushima Airport]], which is limited in schedules.

On April 1, 2018, Kansai Airports Kobe founded by [[Orix]], [[VINCI Airports|Vinci Airport]], and [[Kansai Airports]] took over the operation of Kobe Airport.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-09-26|title=神戸空港特定運営事業等における新運営会社の設立および実施契約の締結について|url=http://www.kansai-airports.co.jp/news/2017/2526/J_170926PressRelease_KobeAirportConcession.pdf|website=Kansai Airports}}</ref>

==Airlines and destinations==
[[File:Kobe Airport concourse.jpg|thumb|Passenger concourse]]
Kobe has a single passenger terminal with four gates capable of accommodating [[widebody aircraft]]

<!-- Please use only independent sources. The airport and airlines itself are not independent sources. -->
{{Airport-dest-list
| [[Air Do]]| [[New Chitose Airport|Sapporo–Chitose]]
| [[All Nippon Airways]] | [[New Chitose Airport|Sapporo–Chitose]], [[Haneda Airport|Tokyo–Haneda]]
| [[Fuji Dream Airlines]] | [[Aomori Airport|Aomori]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/289021/fuji-dream-airlines-adds-kobe-aomori-service-from-late-march-2020/|title=Fuji Dream Airlines adds Kobe – Aomori service from late-March 2020}}</ref> [[Hanamaki Airport|Hanamaki]], [[Kochi Airport|Kōchi-Ryoma]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/287342/fuji-dream-airlines-w19-new-routes/|title = Fuji Dream Airlines W19 new routes}}</ref> [[Matsumoto Airport|Matsumoto]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://centreforaviation.com/news/fuji-dream-airlines-to-launch-kobe-matsumoto-and-kobe-izumo-services-in-oct-2019-931898|title = News for Airlines, Airports and the Aviation Industry &#124; CAPA}}</ref> [[Niigata Airport|Niigata]]
| [[Skymark Airlines]] | [[Ibaraki Airport|Ibaraki]], [[Kagoshima Airport|Kagoshima]], [[Nagasaki Airport|Nagasaki]], [[Naha Airport|Naha]], [[New Chitose Airport|Sapporo–Chitose]], [[Sendai Airport|Sendai]], [[Shimojishima Airport|Shimojishima]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Liu |first1=Jim |title=Skymark Airlines adds Shimojishima service from late-Oct 2020 |url=https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/293214/skymark-airlines-adds-shimojishima-service-from-late-oct-2020/ |website=Routesonline |access-date=19 August 2020}}</ref> [[Haneda Airport|Tokyo–Haneda]]
| [[Solaseed Air]] | [[Naha Airport|Naha]]
}}

Some international charter flights also use Kobe Airport. Although the airport's runway is not long enough to handle long-range flights to Europe and the Americas, it occasionally handles charters to China and other nearby countries.

The Transport Ministry has capped scheduled domestic operations at 30 daily flights, and has banned international flights with the exception of private aircraft and "own use" charters, in order to prevent overcrowding in the area's airspace and to protect the growth of Kansai Airport.<ref name="hyogorp" /> The flight caps have been a point of controversy with Kobe Airport supporters, who point out that the cap was calculated based on Kansai Airport operating twice as many frequencies as are currently offered: given the current traffic levels at Kansai, Kobe should be able to handle six or seven flights per hour.

== Statistics ==
{{Airport-Statistics|iata=UKB}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"
|+ Traffic by fiscal year (from April to March)<ref>{{cite web|script-title=ja:暦年・年度別空港管理状況調書|url=http://www.mlit.go.jp/koku/15_bf_000185.html|publisher=Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism|language=ja|access-date=30 December 2022}}</ref><ref name="usage"/>
|-
!
!Passengers
!Change
!Aircraft<br />operations
!Load Factor
|-
|2005<br />(Opened in March)
|353,673
|
|1,237
|72.5%
|-
|2006
|2,743,004
|
|10,629
|60.4%
|-
|2007
|2,974,983
|{{increase}} 8.5%
|10,638
|67.0%
|-
|2008
|2,579,674
|{{decrease}} 13.3%
|9,859
|67.8%
|-
|2009
|2,337,480
|{{decrease}} 9.4%
|9,593
|70.9%
|-
|2010
|2,219,887
|{{decrease}} 5.0%
|9,971
|69.2%
|-
|2011
|2,568,084
|{{increase}} 15.7%
|12,141
|70.3%
|-
|2012
|2,410,343
|{{decrease}} 6.1%
|13,551
|64.2%
|-
|2013
|2,356,327
|{{decrease}} 2.2%
|13,575
|65.2%
|-
|2014
|2,446,455
|{{increase}} 3.8%
|14,020
|64.9%
|-
|2015
|2,546,591
|{{increase}} 4.1%
|13,711
|67.0%
|-
|2016
|2,783,636
|{{increase}} 9.3%
|12,513
|77.4%
|-
|2017
|3,136,194
|{{increase}} 12.7%
|13,868
|79.4%
|-
|2018
|3,190,090
|{{increase}} 1.7%
|14,817
|80.7%
|-
|2019
|3,292,298
|{{increase}} 3.2%
|16,423
|75.8%
|-
|2020
|1,213,380
|{{decrease}} 63.1%
|11,614
|46.4%
|-
|2021
|1,752,629
|{{increase}} 44.4%
|15,019
|48.1%
|}

==Ground and water transportation==
[[File:151229 Kobe Port Japan02bs.jpg |thumb|Kobe Airport and transportations to the downtown]]
On February 2, 2006, [[Kobe Airport Station]] was connected to [[Sannomiya Station]] in central Kobe by an extension of the existing [[Port Liner]] [[automated guideway transit]] system, using [[Kobe New Transit 2000 series|2000 series trains]] as well as some older [[Kobe New Transit 8000 series|8000 series trains]] (older trains being gradually replaced by newer ''2000'' ones). Travel time to Sannomiya is 18 minutes. From Sannomiya, it is 21 minutes to [[Ōsaka Station]] and 51 minutes to [[Kyoto Station]] by JR special rapid express.

Kobe Airport is connected to Kansai Airport by the {{Nihongo|Kobe&ndash;Kanku Bay Shuttle|神戸-関空ベイ・シャトル}}, a high speed ferry which completes the airport-to-airport journey in 31 minutes for ¥500 for visitors to Japan.

There are bus services to [[Shin-Kobe Station]] (on the [[San'yō Shinkansen]]), Sannomiya Station, and [[Kōbe Station]] in 25–38 minutes. A single trip to Shin-Kobe Station costs ¥330.

==See also==
{{Portal|Aviation}}
*[[Port of Kobe]]
*[[Port Island]]
*[[Hanshin Industrial Region]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Kobe Airport}}
* {{in lang|en}} [http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2432.html Japan Guide: Kobe Airport]
* {{in lang|en}} [http://www.kairport.co.jp/eng/index.html Kobe Airport Terminal]
* {{in lang|ja}} [http://www.kairport.co.jp/ Kobe Airport Terminal]
* {{in lang|ja}} [http://www.city.kobe.lg.jp/life/access/airport/ Kobe Airport Marine Air]
* [http://www.skymark.co.jp/en/access/ukb.html Kobe Airport Guide] from [[Skymark Airlines]]
* {{NWS-current|RJBE}}
* {{ASN|UKB}}

{{Japanese airports}}
{{Osaka transit}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Airports in Japan]]
[[Category:Artificial islands of Kobe]]
[[Category:Artificial island airports]]
[[Category:Transport in Kobe]]
[[Category:Airports established in 2006]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Kobe]]
[[Category:2006 establishments in Japan]]